now it won't start.....

[jiminos]

on july 3rd, i started the bike (XS1100SH) and it ran great. yesterday, i went to the garage to start the bike.... nothing. absolutely nothing. got fuel, got fire... got air... got no noise... any suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

thanx in advance.

[Ken Talbot]

.. handlebar kill switch? How can you tell you've got fire if you've got no noise?

[newmaac]

Jim, I was thinking the same question as Ken.
I had a similar situation once. I pulled a plug wire to see if there was a spark jumping back to the head. When I saw no spark, I "proved my point" by holding onto the wire that I was SURE was dead while hitting start button.
My kids will NEVER let me forget what I looked like while electricuting myself.
Are you SURE that you have spark?? LOL

[schpiff]

I agree..if ya got gas in the hole and some spark..some kinda noise WILL happen...altho not always a good one...

[strom]

Clean the plugs with a wire brush, charge the battery, and nothing should staind in your way... OK almost nothing.

LP

[Jeff]

If the battery is weak on an XS1100..... it may still turn over just fine but it still won't start. They are quite touchy about battery condition.

And by your comment that you have fuel....... is there fuel in the float bowls or just in the tank?

[jiminos]

about the no noise...

i was referring to no engine noise... as in the bike won't start... it cranks.... it has spark (i turned off the lights and watched the little sparkies jump from the plug electrode to the engine casing.. yes i pulled the plug out of the hole...) .... it has fuel (pulled plugs to check right after cranking and plugs had fuel on them)... got compression (used a compression tester).... got no noise at the back end of the mufflers (at point farthest from engine)....

all this is to say.... it does not start....

hope that clears up the confusion.

[Mike Hart]

Lots of possible trouble spots.

Try looking over this thread

good luck, let us know what it turns out to be.

[jiminos]

now it does.... beats me

thanx for the responses... now it starts.... i pulled the seat and tank and inspected all the wiring... all seemed good.

pulled the run/kill switch and checked connections/continuity... checked good.

pulled, cleaned and regapped plugs.

while plugs were out checked to ensure #1 was at TDC when it was supposed to be.

checked cam chain tension...

pulled the octopus. took it apart and checked the diaphragm. cleaned it and re-installed.

checked fuel lines for good seal and overall condition.

checked bowls for float height and sticking.

checked carb settings.

checked battery... very strong. good voltage. good spec grav.

found nothing..... put it back together, frowned at the bike, hit the "go" button, and it did....

go figure... maybe i used the wrong brand of toothpaste before...

or maybe the bike is jealous... i just bought a 94 Honda Shadow Spirit VT1100C and parked it next to the XS.....

[CA.XSer]

or maybe the bike is jealous... i just bought a 94 Honda Shadow Spirit VT1100C and parked it next to the XS.....

That'll do it every time!

[Snow]

Next time it happens, try disconnecting the emergency kill switch (tip over switch) under the tank just behind the coils - it has two wires only, not the one with four. The wires are both black or black/w I believe.

My switch actually died on me veeerrry recently and it was a royal pita to track it down as I was doing 3 other things to the bike at that time.

What happened when I pulled a plug to check spark was that I was indeed getting spark, but not as often as I was supposed to - when I disconnected the tip over switch, I got very regular spark and the bike started no problem.

[jiminos]

Thanx, snow... i would have never found that one..... i think i'll pull that switch tonight when i get home.

btw, everybody.... the bike is running fine now... thanx for all the input.

personally, i still think the bike is jealous..... they can be so tempermental...